Introducing: The Ruthless Aggression Podcast

11th April 2014by Hawkeye Jefferson

Hello Botchamaniacs, please allow me a moment of your time to introduce the newest member of the Botchamania Podcast Family, the Ruthless Aggression Podcast. Inspired by the efforts of OSW Reviews and the Attitude Era Podcast (two of the finest wrestling podcasts ever produced), this show reviews WWE pay per views chronologically starting with Vengeance 2001 and ending at some point after 2005.

Hosted by Hawkeye Jefferson, a lifelong wrestling fan who actively started watching WWF and WCW in early 1998, and co-piloted by Asher [redacted], whose wrestling viewing began in the mid-2000s, these two explore an truly underrepresented era in WWE history with the most ridiculous of microscopes. Usually with silly voices and absurd ideas thrown in every step along the way.

Well, thatjewguy, if that is your real name, if you did just a few seconds of research, you’d see that this program is available for streaming through both Stitcher and PodBean with an RSS feed link provided to listen in iTunes as well. I’m sorry that our format isn’t to your liking but don’t lie and say our show is unstreamable when I’ve provided multiple avenues to do such.

Quincy Bambleton

So how’s it feel two years later now that you’ve realised how shit your podcast was? Can’t believe you had fucking merch lol.

ThatFUGuy

Congrats for being an absolute imbecile. I love OSW, but saying it’s the best when clearly showing that you don’t even listen to AEPodcast or this podcast shows you to be an over-opinionated cunt.

JoeSketchy

Fantastic! I don’t suppose they’re looking for a third host (A JBL to their Cole and Lawler, so to speak)? 😀

Yes Edgar, we will be, my graphic design guy is putting together a new logo for show which is what we need for iTunes.

Edgar Velasco

awesome

Mickey Estep

really dig this podcast series. I was born in ’94, but I remember watching wrestling in ’97. I don’t have a great memory of those first few years of watching wrestling, but I grew up with the Ruthless Aggression era. keep it up.

GabetheGEN

Awesome. I was wondering when someone is going to cover more into that era. Definitely going to check out your work.

Draycos

I’m enjoying this podcast. It feels like a conversation between my friends. An Aussie and an American, huh? It’ll be a pleasant change from the all-irish OSW and AEs.

Dances With Dave

Erm, AEPodcast have two Brits. Not all Irish

Draycos

Yeah, but there’s no real term for that. I can’t say European, because that’s way too large an area. If there was a term to include the UK and both Irelands, I’d gladly use it.

“The term British Isles is controversial in Ireland, where there are objections to its usage due to the association of the word British with Ireland.The Government of Ireland does not recognise or use the term and its embassy in London discourages its use.”

Not according to Ireland there isn’t.

tetradite

It’s controversial to some, but it certainly isn’t entirely rejected. I’m 2nd generation English but come from a strongly Irish republican family and have Irish friends, some would be insulted if they were called “British”, none would really care if they were stood next to a Welsh guy and someone said “you two are from the British Isles”.

There is of course a complex history of my birth nation beating the tar out of my ancestral one which gives some Irish a well earned wish to be entirely disassociated from the word “British”, but “British Isles” is a neutral term to a lot of people, and in my experience the number of Irish people who would take offence at it gets smaller every year.

But that’s just my experience.

Draycos

I appreciate the well-written reply. Thanks. Guess I’ll go with British Isles.

tetradite

FWIW if someone Irish said to me not to use it for them, I’d understand and wouldn’t let them hear me say it, but wouldn’t stop using it altogether because I know waaay too many people who just don’t care.

Kinda the same with the word “black”, I don’t know a single black person who objects to the word, so I use it but if someone pulled me up on it I’d get why, and I understand why someone might be hesitant to use the word.

Draycos

The only people I’ve heard who were upset about being black was way back in the 70s. At least in America, that’s the accepted term. I’m honestly not sure what else you could say as a generic term.

I can tell you that half of America doesn’t like being called Yanks though. The Southerners fuckin HATE that shit.

tetradite

Over here, I’d say it’s mostly accepted, but we did have a heavy period of “you have to say afro-carribbean” and similar (arguably mostly demanded by white people, not black people themselves). I’ve been in quite a few workplaces where someone has ended up tieing themselves up in verbal knots trying to avoid using the word.

You do still sometimes find someone whose opinion matters that genuinely objects to it though.

On the subject of Americans, and Irish: March 17th. Dear Americans: it’s either Patrick’s, Pat’s, Padraig’s or Paddy’s, there is no such thing as St Patty’s Day. Patty is the fat woman from the Simpsons.

Draycos

That’s way too complex though. There are black people from every goddamned country in the world. It would get entirely too tedious to have to figure out what exact country they’re from to adjust it. White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Middle-Eastern. Done. That’s all you really need. Imagine if they had to refer to every white person as their specific ethnicity? Insane.

tetradite

I agree, funny you mention “Asian, Indian” though… not arguing with you here at all, but here’s a bit of a random US/UK difference before I bugger off:

I grew up in a city with very few of what you call “Asians”, and a lot of what you call “Indians”.

As a kid, what you call “Indians” we called “Asians”, partly because we had a big Pakistani/Bangladeshi contingent that would not have much liked being called Indian.

What you call “Asians” I would back then have called “Chinese” or “Oriental” (even though Koreans, Japanese etc would be as annoyed at being called Chinese as Pakistanis were to be called Indians).

Then, largely due to US TV I got used to “Asian” meaning the same as how you use it, but it’s still probably more common in the UK for “Asian” to mean what you call “Indians”. “Asian” is now a complete minefield here, not because of causing offence, just because it has two totally different meanings.

The good news is that the language thing is so stupidly complicated that the more time goes by, the better our sense of humour over misunderstandings gets.

Draycos

Yeah, I know they’re both in “Asia”, but so are Russians, and neither the Russians nor the Indians look anything like what is generally considered “Asians” as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, the big three. I imagine you guys said it because you’re used to having lots of Indians around you as just part of your culture.

We didn’t really get many Indians in prominent roles (Politicians, Movie Stars, etc) until the last 15 or so years. So, we’ve already had what we have in our minds as Asians due to WW2, Korea, and Vietnam, and weren’t about to add people that looked nothing like them.

What’s the predominantly accepted term to call someone from India where you are? Indian or Asian?

You only get people from India calling themselves Indian over here. I’ve never heard any of them call themselves Asian.

tetradite

For the sake of simplicity, I’m just going to use the stereotyped colours, offensive or not, i.e:

Asian ALWAYS meant brown here, and certainly most brown people I’ve known would, did and do happily call themselves Asian.

Indian is a seriously dodgy as a catch-all for brown over here, unless you absolutely 100% knew the family had actually come specifically from India, and not Pakistan etc.

Edit: I missed out, Asian here now means brown OR yellow, basically.

Draycos

I think it really had to do with what culture was more predominant at the time. We’ve always had a good-sized population of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean with little Indian. You guys were the reverse, it seems. We grew up calling each group Asian because they were from Asia and that’s what you called them.

When did the switch for you guys start happening? Was there a specific time period people started making a change?

tetradite

Yeah I think that’s bang on.

If I had to guess at a time when it started changing, I’d say late 1990’s. I’m only speaking for myself of course, and my town where Ind/Pak/Ban population far exceeds other minorities, might be very different in London or whatever.

Draycos

Yeah, that’s about the same time it started changing for us too.

King Kong Bundy

I love listening to people take the piss out of pay per views.

rICHkID21

lame ending, and video this time.

jimmayjackcorn

hmmmm…listened to the first 2 podcasts and i must say not a fan at all. BUT it did take time for the Attitude Era podcast to grow on me. So I’ll give you guys a shot.

lee

cool will have to give you a listen. im sure it will be better than the AE ones which i stopped listening to after a few episodes when it was clear constructive criticism was simply ignored and i was blocked on soundcloud, but for me dont review a show if you have only watched wrestling for a few years. good luck with it!

tetradite

I’m up and down with the AE podcast. I won’t specify which but one guy’s voice just irritates the bejeesus out of me (just one of those personal things, not a criticism of the AE guys) so I need to be in the right mood to enjoy them.

I will say though, I actually PREFER hearing these done by people who aren’t true hardcore wrestling fans for 20+ straight years. That kind of long time fan seems to me to be way more likely to just parrot the received wisdom about what’s good and bad, or end up discussing some minor detail that nobody apart from them gives a shite about in ridiculous depth.

The most important thing is getting people who seem to actually have fun at what they’re doing, which the AE and OSW guys definitely seem to do.

No comment on this newcomer to the party yet, tried a couple of times but can’t get into it yet. It takes me a few attempts to get into anything that’s audio only, my brain wanders.